The problem with cheap low-cost attorney fees in Chapter 7 Bankruptcy is you get a cheap 500 – 600-dollar attorney. Some debts fail to be discharged. Fees are added on later. Work often gets filed late or goes unfiled because you didn’t pay for it. Or you lose property because he won’t do the work or doesn’t know how to do it. Sometimes the case has to be filed twice, which allows him to earn that cheap fee twice.
You can now finance your Chapter 7 bankruptcy. You don’t have to use a cheap attorney who may not be qualified because money is tight. Before 2019, having the attorney do all the work pre-filing and paying attorney fees after the case was filed was considered unethical. This is because as soon as the case is filed the debt to the attorney for work done pre-filing is stayed and later discharged. Here is a 56-minute February 2015 audio of a judge hauling both the attorney and his clients into court over collecting attorney fees after their cases filed. In fact, about 30 of his clients were hauled in for paying his fees after the case filed.
No Money Down Attorney Fees in Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
With our office you can file a skeleton petition so you can get all the benefits immediately and prepare the majority of the petition the next day. Then, the garnishments stop immediately, the bank attachments end, and the harassment stops. With these cases, the law office prepares the majority of the petition the day after the case files.
Because the work is done after the case files, the law office can collect after the case files. The debt for the work does not discharge in the bankruptcy because it’s done after filing. These law firms advertise this as a zero or no money down bankruptcy. Unfortunately, the cost is higher but you can have a low monthly payment you can afford. You get the work you needed done and in the long run you may pay less since more debt may be discharged or more property can be saved.
⎆ Cheap low-cost attorney fees in Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
In an emergency, our office can file a case with no money down. However, instead of costing a client about $1,538 to file for a single person and the filing fee, the cost is paid over a year is about $2,000 dollars for a zero-down bankruptcy.
Shopping for a cheaper or lower-cost attorney to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy often hurts. When firms advertise a lower cost, it normally means the debtor gets a lawyer with little experience. It is also a discriminatory practice that preys on minority clients.
I know clients are often cash poor, and they like to pay by making payments. Paying the court costs and attorney fees after you file is fairly new. We were one of the first offices to do it in 2020 for Kentucky.
⎆ A breakdown of Chapter 7 costs.
In 2020, the average Chapter 7 consumer attorney fee in Kentucky was $1,400 dollars for a single person and $1,600 for a couple. The court filing fee has increased from 335 to $338. staff salaries, rent, insurance, software, etc. are costs that reduce what he makes per case to about $600 if he works a full day on each case. If he charges 600 dollars you don’t get an experienced attorney working a day on your case. You normally get a paralegal or secretary who prepared it and a kid fresh out of law school who went with you to court. A Chapter 7 should cost about the same as an average refrigerator.
Bankruptcy cases are in federal court. Federal court cases are harder to file than cases in state court and require more work and higher standards in the work that is done. Sometimes attorneys will take less time preparing the petition, disobey the rules, delay doing work, and take short cuts. We don’t. And you don’t want an attorney who does that.
⎆ Saving in advance for attorney fees.
Some consumers can’t save up for items. People like paying for services after they get them. This costs more but enables you to get the services you need.
The success rate for our Chapter 7 clients is over 97%. The average petition is 60-80 pages long and takes 2-4 hours just to prepare. The typical low-cost skeleton petition is just six pages long and takes 5 to 10 minutes to file when it needs to be filed immediately.
Here again is the February 3rd, 2015, motion hour hearing where a judge spent nearly an hour sanctioning a debtor and his attorney in front of other attorneys. In the end, she sends cases to the US Trustee to investigate both the attorney and the debtors. Several of his cases were subject to being dismissed due to allowing clients to make payments on filing fees or paying attorney fees after he filed the case.
To give the client a low price, you can always cut corners and do less work. However, as you can see with some practices, it only makes more work for the client and the attorney and opens you up to having the court look over your petition. Therefore, cheap low-cost attorney fees in Chapter 7 Bankruptcy are not as affordable as you might think.
Resources for Bankruptcy
Louisville Kentucky Bankruptcy Forms
Chapter 7 and Foreclosure Clients
Chapter 7 Attorney Fees in Louisville Kentucky
Bankruptcy Attorney Fees and Costs in Louisville Kentucky
Low-Cost Attorney Bankruptcy Scams
If you are thinking about filing bankruptcy, don’t delay because timing is crucial. I am here to help you. So, contact my office right away to start the conversation. Nick C. Thompson, Bankruptcy Lawyer: 502-625-0905.
